Stop #21: St. Danes Cabins and RV Park, Moab, UT
- Denisse Storti
- Nov 19, 2023
- 9 min read
Updated: Nov 20, 2023
We made it to Utah! We have no doubts that exploring this part of the US will be amazing since it's the home of the big 5: Arches, Bryce, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion. These will be new adventures for us all being that Paul and I have not visited any of these National Parks, so it's safe to say, we are excited. :)
As shared in our previous post, we had a hard time finding available campgrounds for these dates. We ended up booking at St. Danes Cabins which is 11 mins south from Moab. Far from a fancy campground, St. Danes has dirt roads and sites, no amenities besides a small laundry room, and was under construction during our stay as they work on adding more RV sites. It does have potential to become a nice option for RVers though. A small stream runs behind the campground and the mountain views are beautiful. While dirt sites are not our favorite, the kids had the best time playing with rocks and sticks with other campground visitors.
While there are many other options closer to Arches, our 20 minute drives from this location didn't feel too bad, specially since it was a scenic one. Our site was spacious enough for our RV and truck. We had lavender in our backyard which was nice, but Paul and I didn't spend too much time outside since it was so dusty. Since the sun sets behind the canyon walls, we didn't see nice sunsets from our campground but we did manage to drive to a few places during our stay where we could experience them.
We arrived on a Saturday, so as usual, we waited to explore during the week when crowds would be lower. On our first day out we went to Rotary Park so the kids could play. This is a great playground with a section dedicated to musical instruments, a small zip line, a big playset, a large green area for running, and our kids favorite, a stream running behind it. After playing with the instruments a bit they gravitated towards the stream and spent a long time building dams with the rocks they found in the area. While they played, Paul discovered that the Sand Flats Recreation area was nearby so once the kids played at the playground for a bit we all got in the car and headed in that direction.
The Sand Flats Recreation area is home to campsites (most are first come, first serve but a few are reservable), bike trails, and 4x4 trails. There's a $10 fee per vehicle to enter the park. All other fees can be found on their website. The 4x4 trails looked pretty cool... taking you along the top of large boulders, so Paul couldn't resist and off we went onto Fins and Things - which looked easier than Hells Revenge which I objected to. lol We started climbing pretty soon off the bat and before long we were high enough to catch the beautiful sunset which made the rocks glow bright orange. For that reason alone, this impromtu adventure was already more than worth it. The trail took us up and down boulders... some times requiring us to get out to see which was the best route for us to travel with our large GMC Denali. The trail ended up being quite the challenge, with the truck going down at 25 degree incline on some parts, which felt like a lot more from inside the vehicle. Side by sides or Jeeps are more fit for riding along these as they are shorter in length but we made the best of it... only getting a tad stuck once when one of our tires ended up in the air due to unevenness. If you want to do something adventureous other than hiking when in Moab, make sure to check this out.
The following day we made it to Arches. To visit between 7a - 4p you'll need a timed entry in addition to a park entrance ticket (or your National Parks pass) via Recreation.gov. We booked our timed entry for this day a few weeks in advance but once you are in Moab you can also book for the day after when slots get released at 6p. Not sure how booked things get in the Summer, so depending what time of year you visit, it might require some advanced planning. When driving over to the park, make sure you also take into account the time you might be waiting in line before you get in. During our first two visits there was a 30min wait and this could be much longer during peak visiting times.
During this first visit, we did the complete scenic drive with a stop at the Windows Section from which we hiked over to North Window, South Window, and Turret Arches and then crossed the street over to hike to Double Arch. These are both short hikes along well maintained trails. The Windows Section trail is 1.2 mi long and the Double Arch trail is 0.6 mi. On the Windows Section, the North Window Arch is the one closest to the trailhead and the busiest one. It's impressive due to it's size and shape of an eye (you've probably seen famous pics of the moon rising behind this arch which really bring this to life). There are some steps and some elevation gain but it's an easy hike. From there we walked over to the South Window which wasn't crowded at all but unlike the North Window this arch does not have an easy pathway that takes you up to the base of the arch. The kids and Paul hiked as far as they could under the arch but did not reach it. We then walked over to Turret Arch, which was my favorite since from under it (which you could climb to with a minimal amount of scrambling) you are able to see the North Window and amazing views of this area.
While there is parking at the Double Arch trail head, the park was busy and parking was hard to come by so we opted to leave our car at the Windows section and cross over by foot to Double Arch which was a short walk away. This was a very busy arch, similar to the North Window. There is some shade there in the afternoon so many folks, like us, hung out under the arch for a bit in order to cool off a bit from the hot temps. The kids had a great time climbing around under these magestic arches and attempted to climb up to the highest point, but didn't quite make it as it was overly crowded with folks that where having a hard time figuring out how to descend. lol Following these two hikes we were done for the day. The hot temps will take it out of you and this is in October! I know I say this a lot but I truly cannot imagine doing any of those hikes in the summer.
On our way back to the campground we decided to stop at Sunset Grill for dinner. We had seen the sign on the way over and since the restaurant is perched up high on a hill we figured it would indeed live up to it's name. We got there a bit before sunset so timing was perfect. While it worked out for us to drop in, reservations are recommended specially if you aim to be there during sunset hour. The food was fine, nothing to rave about but the sunset views were spectacular. So for that reason alone, I say do visit at least once while visiting Moab.
The following day, Paul went off on a solo adventure... we sometimes we need our alone time while RVing together! He had been eyeing the Le Sal Mountains from our campsite and decided to hike the tallest one he could see, Mt Tukuhnikivatz. He left around 11a with
the thought that it would be a 2-3 hr adventure but little did he know that the terrain that looked nice and smooth from afar would be loose rock all the way up. It was a challenge and he managed to hike all the way above the tree line before he decided he needed to start his descend in order to make it down before it got dark. He caught amazing views that extended as far as his eyes could see and got in a good workout that had his legs hurting for a couple of days.
A few days later we returned to Arches to tackle the most popular trail of the park, Delicate Arch. We homeschool in the morning so once again we booked a timed entry for early afternoon. This 3.2 mi trail was pretty demanding due to the 629 ft elevation gain, the warm temperature (it was in the low 80's that day), and lack of shade throughout. We saw some folks attempting this hike with no water and while wearing jeans... a recipe for disaster. We started our hike at 2:22p and following a few rest breaks, we reached our destination at 3:10p. This hike is a scenic one which helps distract from it's challenges. While there are parts of the trail that have drop offs, the path was wide enough for it to never feel unsafe for our kids to be on it. To get to the arch you do need to walk along the top of what looks like a large bowl with a hole in the middle which was nerve wracking for me, but this didn't seem to bother Paul and the kids at all.
We hung out in this area for a little over an hour, eating our snacks, hydrating, taking in the views and watching folks get their pictures under the arch. During this time, we saw long wait times and no line at all. We waited till a time when there was no wait times at all to get our time under the arch and then returned a bit later for a second photo sesh. Not gonna lie, Paul had to hold my hand the first time around for me to walk over there. On the second go, I built up my courage and did it all on my own - a big accomplishment for someone whose anxiety gets triggered by drop offs. This spot is truly magical. It's probably amazing during sunrise but the afternoon light also made it look pretty spectacular.
We took a bit of a break from hiking on the days following our hike to Delicate Arch. We drove south on one of the days and ended up driving by a sign for Ulum. We didn't drive in but were intrigued enough to look it up online and learned that Ulum is a glamping resort with a restaurant onsite. The menu looked enticing but unfortunately it was closed for the season. We later found out one of our friends stayed there and loved it, so based on her review, I'd say try to check it out if you are in the area when they're open.
Next up, we made our way to check out another arch, however, this one was not within Arches. Corona and Bowtie Arch trail is approx 15 mins West from Arches along Potash Rd. This turned out to be one of the best hikes we did while in Moab. This 2.3 mi trail will take you over a railroad, steadily gaining elevation over the beautiful rocks of Bootlegger Canyon, up a section that requires holding on to safety chains, up a ladder, past some caves, out to an open area from where you can see both arches before finally hiking over to them. Bowtie Arch alone is quite the sight... a pothole arch with black, white, and green water markings, setting itself aside from all the other arches in the area. On the other hand, Corona Arch is impressive due to it's size. It is similar in height to Delicate Arch however this one is attached to the canyon on one side. It's a beautiful hike with amazing canyon views throughout.
By this point the kids were all arched out. lol While we (maybe mostly me) did want to get in at least another day at Arches we weren't in a rush so we took another few days off from hikes and did a bit of exploring by car. The very nice manager at our RV park recommended
doing a drive along the Le Sal Mountain Loop Road, stopping along the way to see some Dinosaur tracks at the Manti-La Sal National Forest and then back out to the Colorado River. The drive had awesome views and the Dino tracks were fun to see with the kids. We ended up taking a detour onto a dirt road that took us along a canyon and ended up having to trace our steps back when the road we were following became too rough and narrow. We ended our adventure with mexican food and huge margaritas at El Tapatio.
Our stay at St. Danes was now coming to an end but we weren't done with Moab. Halloween was a few days away so we decided to move to a more kid friendly campground to make the most of one our kid's favorite holidays.
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